we are = eLk × 5

Who are we? Who do we want to be? How do we want to be? We begin with just a few answers—and, as every year, invite you to discover answers with us and beyond us: to take part in the search, to come, to stay, and to leave.

The eLk Festival Union itself is not an organization. It has no permanent governing bodies and no formal membership. It consists of everyone who agrees with its ideas, takes part in its work, and supports it. Like many similar initiatives in different countries, we seek to serve the common good.

Last year, we solemnly proclaimed the Preamble of eLk, which first brought the Festival Union into existence in our minds and hearts. Now come the first articles of its Charter. They are about freedom, love, and equality.

§ 1 Free movement of people, literature, languages, and voices, as well as freedom of residence:
Freedom is the mother of all universal rights. We need freedom, because without freedom we cannot truly feel at home. The right to free speech, publication, one's (mother) tongue and its preservation, the right to assemble and organize, and the right to remain in places and public spaces—all of this is freedom. eLk is committed to ensuring these freedoms for everyone within the framework of the festival and to defending them, including in the face of public authorities and immigration offices.

§ 2 Respect for and love of the diversity of people, cultures, languages, and traditions:
Human rights are neither gifts nor acts of mercy. They are rights that belong to all of us, regardless of where we were born. No one can take away our rights, our cultures, or our languages. The European Union may debate whether human rights are negotiable. eLk does not.

§ 3 Equality:
Every eLk being—and indeed every individual—is equal to every other. This applies above all to the dignity, personality, and freedom of every person, every language, and every human literature.

Protecting these fundamental rights, proclaiming them loudly, and repeating them again and again is eLk's highest purpose. We invite you to discover, formulate, preserve, and defend further rights and articles.

In that spirit: Join us!